Dog Shaking And Looking "Wobbly"?

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I had a big scare earlier this evening. I was sick today, so I laid down for a nap at 4:00 p.m.. I normally feed the dogs at 6:00, but I was exhausted and slept until around 8:00. When I woke up, Charlie was at the foot of my bed. When I turned the lights on, his head was kind of wobbly and shaking (not the normal "little dog shake," but more like a bobble-head). I got really freaked out. I was very hot, but I was sick, so I can't tell if the room was hot or if it was just me. Charlie had accidentally shut the door at some point during my nap, so he didn't have free access to the kitchen, where his water is. I took him outside immediately to cool off, and I gave him some water. He drank a lot. Then I took him inside, fed him a good meal, and then took him back outside again, where the temperature was pleasantly cool. He eventually stopped being wobbly, and by the time I took him to the bathroom, he was pulling on the leash and seemed normal.

What happened to him? Was he overheated, dehydrated, had low blood sugar, or some combination of the above? I added a water bowl to my bedroom and a few around the house in case I'm not around and he shuts himself in a room again, and I opened the windows a little just to keep the house cool in case it was a temperature thing. Do you Dogsters have any experience or advice with this? I was so worried. Thanks so much!

Not to scare you but it could of been a seizure the end of one or a small one. Did he scarf down the food or pace after you let him out of the room? It also could of been low sugar I as a human get shaky after not eating or getting dehydrated.

He didn't pace when I took him out. I was pretty slow and delicate with him because I was so scared, so I just walked really slowly. When we got outside, he could walk, but he was definitely shaky. He drank a lot of water, and when I fed him, he ate slowly (almost like he felt weak, maybe), but he ate all of his food and seemed like he had a normal appetite. It seemed like after the food and water "kicked in," he felt better. I'm not going to rule out a seizure, but it just looked more like the symptoms of dehydration, overheating, and especially low blood sugar, from what I read.

A dog is not going to dehydrate in 4 hours, unless the temp in your house was over 100 degrees. Nor should that amount of time produce a drop in blood sugar significant enough to cause the symptoms you described.

I agree with the other poster, something else was going on. I'd of brought a dog with any unsteadiness like that into the vet immediately.

With you being sick is it possible he got into some kind of medication you were taking?

Nor should that amount of time produce a drop in blood sugar significant enough to cause the symptoms you described.

I'd have to disagree with you Trigger, When was he last fed? We weren't told, If it was the day before, and he is just getting food, two hours later, It could be low blood sugar, Chloe used to get this VERY often. She would eat once a day and usually about 18(give or take) hours apart, and she would start to shake if I mentioned food, or if she saw her dinner.

He could have had a seizure and/or a hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) episode. Although not as common in older adult dogs it can happen. Zoey has medical issues so has to eat something every 4-6 hours or she gets low blood sugar and will start doing the head bobbling thing. If it happens again I would definitely recommend a vet visit, maybe a good idea even if it doesn't happen again to make sure everything is okay, as it's not normal for an adult dog to get a low blood sugar unless there is an underlying cause (Zoey has hydrocephalus and other issues that lead to hers). It maybe a good idea to pick up some Nutrical to give in these type situations. Whereas he perked up after food water, the nutrical will help perk him up faster, that or keep some Karo syrup on hand and rub on his gums if he's shaky like that again.

Charlie is usually a once-a-day eater, but I'm thinking of maybe giving him a light snack earlier in the day and still doing the bulk of his meal in the early evening. He hadn't eaten since the day before, so I'm guessing it probably was low blood sugar? I read up on seizures, and one of my friends whose small dog suffered a seizure describes it differently than what I saw. Charlie wasn't "zoned out" or anything. He was just wobbly and off-looking. He's doing fine today, playing, etcetera, but if it happens again, we'll be going to the vet. I'm picking up some Karo syrup at the grocery store today for sure.